BUFFALO, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team lost to host Medaille College, 73-63, at the WNY Knee and Orthopedic Surgery Tournament on Friday night. Utica's Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) led the Pioneers for the second straight game with 12 points, while freshman Miles McNeill (Rochester, NY/Aquinas) chipped in with a career-high 11 points.

Utica's record fell to 0-2 on the year and the Pioneers will return to the court on Saturday in the consolation game at 1 p.m. when they face off against the loser of Friday's second semifinal matchup, Baruch College or Goucher College.

The first half saw several runs from both teams. The host Mavericks opened up the game on a (9-2) run in the first four minutes of action, but the Pioneers were able to erase the seven point deficit and build a four point lead (14-10) of their own with a 12-1 run in the next four minutes.

The Mavericks finished the half on a (7-0) run to go into the half with a (37-28) lead. In a half that saw 25 combined turnovers and 28 combined personal fouls, Medaille (10-29/34.5%) out shot the Pioneers (8-25/32.0%), but the Pioneers held the edge in rebounds (21-16).

Medaille built their largest lead of the night in the opening minutes of the second half, going up by thirteen points (43-30) on a layup by junior Joe Piotrowski

The Pioneers kept battling though, keeping the deficit in the single digits for much of the next ten minutes. A pair of free throws by Johnathan Belton with 3:42 remaining in the second half made it a twelve-point game (63-51) in favor of Medaille.

A three-pointer by Utica freshman Hunter Remley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) cut the lead back to nine-points with just under two-minutes remaining.  This was as close as the Pioneers would get as the Mavs came away with a ten point victory.

Junior point guard Bennito Ayarza (Brooklyn, NY/Cayuga Community College) added nine points and five assist for the Pioneers, while Justin Mayers (Hastings, NY/Hastings on the Hudson) came off the bench and posted six points.  Freshmen Kyler Mower (Richfield Springs, NY/Richfield Springs) and Hunter Remley (Cranford, NJ/Cranford) each chipped in with five points apiece for Utica.

UC earned a rebounding edge on the afternoon, 39-35.   Four players scored in double figures for the Mavericks, including Jonathan Belton (12), Justice Fagan (11), Mike Hollenbeck (10) and Matthew Sadowy (10).

42 of Utica's 63 total points came off the bench as 14 different players saw action for the Pioneers. 12 different players scored at least one point on the evening for UC.